Numerous attempts have been made in the past to achieve a simple, inexpensive system for public opinion polling utilizing the telephone network. Such systems as have been previously proposed have not been successful due to the various associated requirements of installation of special equipment on customer premises, payment of individual charges by customers, and other expensive or intricate demands placed upon the customer or the pollster.
A polling procedure of this type is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,370, and entails the broadcasting over a mass communication medium, such as radio or television, a polling question with instructions to the listening public who care to participate in the poll to place phone calls to one or another designate number in order to register their opinions. This system requires, however, specialized call answering and tabulating equipment to be put into place at the destination office, and suffers further from the deterrent affects of billing charges being made against participants and call blocking due to simultaneous calling attempts. A truly representative poll is thus often prevented by the reluctance of customers to make the required expenditure, as well as by the numerous premature call terminations due to extended periods of line unavailability.
Other systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,536, on the other hand, require that special signaling devices be located with each telephone set in the premises of respective poll participants to enable appropriate responses to broadcast polling queries. The enormous expense involved with the provisioning and installation of such devices is at once apparent, as is the cost of maintaining such equipment for an occasional moment of use.
The need has thus long existed for a polling system which would not require specialized equipment, but could utilize the telephone network elements which are normally in place, and by means of which customers choosing to participate in a broadcast poll might do so without incurring costs or undue expenditures of time. The present invention provides such a system.